How to Serve Smoked Salmon 6 Ways
July 28, 2017

From breakfast to brunch and lunch to dinner, smoked salmon does it all. Learn how to serve this versatile, brain-boosting, and elegant ingredient below.

As its name suggests, smoked salmon is fresh salmon that has been cured or brined, then smoked in one of two ways:

Hot-Smoking: 6-12 hours at 120° – 180°F

Cold-Smoking: 1 day to 3 weeks at 70° – 90°F

Now you’re probably thinking… that’s lox right? And WHERE ARE THE BAGELS? Not so fast. Although smoked salmon and lox look similar, lox is only salt-cured or brined, never cooked or smoked.

If you’ve never tried salmon smoked before, consider this your formal invitation into the world of the silky, flavorful, and moist ingredient we can’t get enough of. And if you have, get ready to mix things up.

1. Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce and Smoked Salmon

If you can find white asparagus, amazing! If not, the classic green variety would work perfectly. Serve as a simple, crowd-pleasing appetizer or veggie side dish.

To make the sauce, first separate egg white from yolk by carefully cracking egg, then passing yolk between eggshell halves (letting whites fall into a bowl). Place yolk in a saucepan.

Add lemon juice and water to saucepan with yolk and whisk over low heat to allow egg to slowly cook. Once it thickens and becomes slightly frothy, remove pan from heat.

Add butter in spoonfuls, whisking constantly until well combined. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Top asparagus spears with hollandaise and smoked salmon. Serve with lemon wedges.

2. Smoked Salmon and Brie Cucumber Bites

Creamy cheese, crisp cucumbers, sharp dill — all rounded out by flavorful smoked salmon. A champ of an appetizer if we’ve ever seen one.

Ingredients:

1/2 Wheel Brie, cut into small chunks

1 Tablespoon Capers, chopped

1/4 Cup Finely Diced Scallions

1 Clove Garlic, minced

3 Cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds (about 24 pieces)

2 Slices Smoked Salmon, cut into small pieces

Dill

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Layer brie chunks in the bottom of an oven-proof skillet. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cheese is almost bubbling.

Add capers, scallions, and garlic. Incorporate into brie, then return to oven another 2-3 minutes.

Top each cucumber round with cheese mixture, then add smoked salmon and dill.

3. Toast with Soft Scrambled Eggs and Smoked Salmon

Your tried-and-true eggs and toast gets a major, brain-boosting upgrade with the addition of a thin slice of smoked salmon and a generous flurry of flaky sea salt. We opted for sourdough bread, but feel free to swap for multigrain or whole grain if you’d like.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 Slices Sourdough, toasted

4 Eggs

Splash Milk

1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter

2 Slices Smoked Salmon

Chives

Instructions:

Crack eggs into a bowl, then add a splash of milk (about 3 Tablespoons would work) and kosher salt. Use a whisk to whip eggs until well mixed, about 30 seconds.

Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once it begins to bubble, pour in egg mixture.

Let cook undisturbed until a thin layer of cooked egg appears along the edges, 30-60 seconds.

Use a rubber or silicone spatula to slowly stir, lifting and folding until eggs are just barely set but still moist and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (TIP: Residual heat will continue to cook eggs a bit, so don’t be afraid if they look a tad runny on top.)

Remove from heat and immediately divide between 2 slices of toast. Top with smoked salmon, season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with chives.

4. Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Don’t let the elegance of eggs Benedict fool you — poached eggs and hollandaise sauce are both surprisingly simple to make from scratch for all the flavor and comfort of brunch without the long lines or price tag.

Top each English muffin half with smoked salmon, then carefully add a poached egg. Add a spoonful of hollandaise over each egg, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with dill.

5. Avocado Toast with Cucumber Ribbons and Smoked Salmon

Don’t get us wrong — the classic, no-frills, creamy avocado toast is good. But once you add cucumber ribbons, smoked salmon, a sprinkle of herbs, and maybe even a chili pepper or two, you’ll never go back.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 Slices Sourdough, toasted

1/2 Avocado

2 Slices Smoked Salmon

1 Teaspoon Sour Cream

Thyme and Mint

1 Chili Pepper, optional

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Mash avocado in a small bowl. Divide between 2 slices of bread, then top with smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream, herbs, and finely diced chili pepper, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

we need more info on how to make simple appetizers to serve nice smoked salmon before dinner. Similiar to the cucumber, brie and salmon above. Just need to know what tastes best with smoked salmon. Thanks. Elizabeth